About 15 participate in mayor's second Disability for a Day

July 17, 2007|By Angela Mettler, American News Writer

City Planner Brett Bill brought his Shenanigans menu close to his face, frowned in frustration and held it at arm's length. His goggles were making it difficult to see. "It's like looking through a straw," he said. Bill was one of about 15 people who experienced what various disabilities are like on Monday during the second Mayor's Advisory Council Disability for a Day, a part of Americans with Disabilities Week. Bill was wearing goggles that simulated retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition in which cells of the retina (the part of the eye that captures light) slowly die. Participants in Disability for a Day visited Storybook Land and the Lakewood Mall to see what everyday life is like for people with disabilities. Participants rotated the disabilities they experienced. Some wore blindfolds or goggles simulating cataracts, while others used wheelchairs to get around - and some combined two disabilities. Eric Vetter, of Opportunities for Independent Living, wore the retinitis pigmentosa goggles while using a wheelchair. He lost use of both of his legs in an August 1993 motorcycle accident and has been in a wheelchair ever since, but he said the goggles made getting around even tougher. “You've got zero peripheral vision,” he said. Bill and Beth Isaacson-Hoeft, Lakewood Mall property manager, thought being blind was the most difficult of the disabilities. Isaacson-Hoeft said relying on another person as a guide, especially at Storybook Land, was a unique experience. “You know when you're standing there (in Storybook Land) that you can't get out of the park by yourself,” she said. Bill said using a white walking cane helped him navigate a little while he wore the blindfold. “You could feel all the texture on the floor and the ground (with the cane),” he said. He also participated in Disability for a Day in 2006, the first year it was organized in Aberdeen. Isaacson-Hoeft participated for the first time this year. Vetter said Disability for a Day helps make people aware that things that seem small or go unnoticed might be an obstacle for someone with a disability. For example, a block of sidewalk that is raised a half inch from the surrounding sidewalk could cause someone with a vision impairment or a walker to stumble, and it could make getting around in a wheelchair difficult, he said. “(People without disabilities) never ever realize how something so small can be such an obstacle,” he said. Vetter said people participating in Disability for a Day take their experiences to their workplaces and often find things that could be improved for someone with a disability. “They gain the awareness of what their building or workplace should look like,” he said.